What’s “Seasonal Thinking” for Annapolis House Hunting?

Some of the finer house hunting pointers deal with uncovering a property’s not-so-visible elements. Your home inspector will inspect the state of the structure and the mechanical details it takes a professional’s trained eye to assess, but other factors might be critical, too. House hunting veterans can develop skills in appraising a property from a wider perspective than is possible from a single (or even a couple of) visits.

One such perspective calls for imagination: it might be called “seasonal thinking.”

As an imaginary example, consider the sprawling Annapolis ranch that’s particularly attractively priced. It’s well below the neighborhood median per square foot and seems to have been well maintained, yet it has lingered long in the listings. Seasonal thinking could expose the reason: it’s because the quiet peacefulness it manifests in February will all but vanish when the now-deserted parking lot next door (behind the backyard fence) roars into life after Memorial Day.

Likewise, the autumnal beauty evidenced by photographic displays in the den (and online in the virtual tour) might be significantly less alluring if the same angles were shot during the annual mudfests of March. A detached garage can be unimportant on a balmy afternoon—but a definite shoe-soaker during inclement weather. Or the sparse early August traffic flow might be very unlike what will take place once classes begin at the high school at the end of the block.

Now, it’s entirely possible that any of these factors which are deal-breakers for some don’t phase other house hunters in the slightest. What is important is that a future buyer not be taken by surprise by a seasonal transformation that wasn’t foreseen.

Seasonal thinking may be an acquired Annapolis house hunting skill, but it’s one I supply for the benefit of my house hunting clients. Whether your own upcoming Annapolis real estate interest will be as seller or house hunter, I hope you’ll include my help. Call anytime!